My Insurance Agent didn’t notice the complete re-decoration of my office. The walls were painted a light grey with a feature wall of navy blue. The new carpet, the six coats of two tone paint or the wainscoting. He looked deeper. He poked, measured and took readings of the gyproc, discovering that the water had been seeping six feet up inside the walls. The thought of crumbling dampened gyproc becoming a growing medium for mold had never crossed my mind. I hadn’t thought of the dangers to us, our family and friends for years to come. The expertise of my Insurance Agent was obvious. He looked at the long term implications. He knew the negative impact unresolved issues would have years into the future.
The demolition crew worked tirelessly to remove carpet, underlay, gyproc, wet insulation and vapor barrier. The crew left confirming that the “crisis was past, the emergency was gone and don’t touch the four fans and dehumidifier for five days.”
As they worked in my basement, I sat on the couch upstairs reading, relaxing and enjoying life in front of the fireplace without any comprehension of the long term implications of crisis downstairs
The ‘Tongue in Cheek’ leadership manual describes my behavior as ‘the Daddy Long Legs’ style. You’ve seen these bugs sitting and enjoying life on top of swamp water. They are relaxed, quiet and content resting above the water oblivious to anything below the water level. Anytime the bug looks to the water, it sees its own reflection and the world looks great.
My National paper discusses leaders with similar qualities. They sit in their ivory tower looking at their achievements. They never bother to look under the water line. We liken them to the futility of re-organizing the deck chairs on the Titanic.
Pharaoh, an Old Testament leader, was the original ‘daddy long legs’ leader. After experiencing several plagues, his advisors asked him, “Are you going to destroy us completely? Don’t you know even yet that all Egypt lies in ruins?” (Exodus 10:7 Living Bible)?” Pharaoh, like many leaders exhibited poor leadership. He saw the obvious but missed the long term implications.
Leadership is listening to your Associates to be sure you understand the total picture.
Yours in Service,
Laurie D. Kennedy
Leadership Coach
Jethro Group